Brown Men's Ice Hockey Opens Official Practices

Oct 16, 2009

Under the direction of first-year head coach Brendan Whittet
'94, the Brown men's ice hockey team is set to begin official
practices today for its 85th season of collegiate competition. The
Bears are eager to begin the new season, as there is a renewed
sense of energy and excitement about the team. Helping to lead
Brown this year are senior tri-captains Jordan Pietrus, Devin
Timberlake, and Aaron Volpatti, as the Bears look to improve upon
last season's 12th place finish.

GOALReturning: 2; Lost: 1; Newcomers: 1

As has been the case over the past several years, Brown enters
the season with a wealth of experience at the goaltending position.
Senior Dan Rosen and sophomore Mike Clemente split time in net last
year and both will be challenged by freshman Anthony Borelli (Grand
Island, NY).

Based on last year's finish, Clemente appears to be the
front-runner for the starting job, but Rosen is expected to battle
for the position and push Clemente. After backing Rosen up for the
majority of the first part of the season, Clemente emerged as the
favorite in mid-January and played in the final 11 games of the
season. He led Brown with a 2.67 GAA and a .930 save percentage,
which ranked third in the ECAC, third all-time at Brown, and was a
new Brown record for save percentage in a season by a freshman
goalie. Clemente shocked the hockey world in Brown's first-round
ECAC Hockey playoff series when he stopped all 86 shots he faced in
two games, as Brown became the first team ever to shut out the
Crimson in back-to-back games on their home ice.

Rosen will look to regain his form from his first two seasons,
during which time he posted a 2.98 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
Last season, he battled through injuries for a large part of the
year, and posted a 3.93 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 15 games.
Rosen will enter his final season with 2,051 career saves, which
currently ranks third all-time at Brown.

Both Clemente and Rosen will be challenged by Borelli, who joins
the Bears from the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. In 26 games last
season, Borelli posted a 2.47 GAA and a .915 save percentage to go
along with a 15-6-2 record and one shutout.

DEFENSEReturning: 7; Lost: 2; Newcomers: 3

Brown's defense went through some growing pains last season with
two seniors, two freshmen, and one sophomore consistently in the
lineup with the sixth player rotating between a junior and a
sophomore. That experience will hopefully pay off in 2009-2010, as
the Bears' defensive corps has combined for 249 career games.
Junior Jeremy Russell provides the most experience, having played
in all 65 games of his career, and will look to lead the Bears
defense along with sophomore Jeff Buvinow.

After missing the entire 2007-08 season due to an injury,
Russell returned to the team last fall and picked up where he left
off in 2007, playing in all 33 games and playing on the top
power-play unit. An offensive-minded defenseman, Russell was the
second-leading scoring defenseman, posting seven points (1g, 6a),
including one power-play goal. Buvinow had a tremendous
freshman campaign, earning Second Team All-Ivy and ECAC All-Rookie
honors at the conclusion of the season. The Bears' second leading
scorer, in 2009 with 17 points (3g, 14a), Buvinow was the anchor of
Brown's top power-play unit. He and Russell will both be looked
upon to lead the defense this season, especially from an offensive
standpoint.

Senior Hunter Thunell and sophomore Mike Wolff also provide
experience for the Bears' defense, as both played in 22 games last
year. Wolff is a steady player on the defensive end who makes smart
decisions with the puck and has the ability to chip in offensively
from time-to-time. He posted three points (1g, 2a), scoring his
first career goal in the Bears' victory at Quinnipiac last year. A
stay-at-home defenseman, Thunell was in-and-out of the lineup for
most of the year, but will compete for a more consistent spot in
the lineup this year.

Senior Scott Van der Linden and junior Sean Connauton will also
look to contribute more on the ice this year. Both are stay-at-home
defensemen and provide experience to the Bears' lineup. Connauton
played in 19 games and was a valued member of the penalty-kill,
while Van der Linden appeared in nine games last season. Sophomore
Riley LaForge also returns and will look to earn a spot in the
lineup this year. A solid two-way defender, he was injured for most
of the first half of the season and played in one game.

Brown's blue line will be bolstered by the addition of three
talented freshman, including Evan Atkinson (White Rock, BC), Richie
Crowley (Canton, MA) and Scott Harff (Watertown, NY). Atkinson
posted 12 points last season with the Langley Chiefs of the BCHL,
while Harff earned 15 points in 2008-09 at St. Paul's School.
Crowley joins the Bears having spent the past two seasons with the
U.S. National Team Developmental Program.

FORWARDReturning: 11; Lost: 4; Newcomers: 5

Senior tri-captains Jordan Pietrus, Devin Timberlake, and Aaron
Volpatti will look to lead the Bears up front this season, having
finished last season among the top seven scorers on the team. All
three are valuable members of the team, both on and off the ice,
and are regular contributors on both the power-play and
penalty-kill. Playing coach Whittet's up-tempo style should further
assist their game, as all three play a quick and aggressive style.
Pietrus and Volpatti both finished with 13 points and were tied for
fourth on the team in scoring. Volpatti also had three power-play
goals and one short-handed goal, while Pietrus scored two
power-play goals and one game-winning goal. Timberlake's season was
cut short due to an injury 10 games into the year, but he still
finished seventh on the team in scoring with eight points (4g, 4a),
including four power-play goals

Senior Sean McMonagle will also continue to be a valued member of
the front line. He finished the season tied with Timberlake with
eight points (3g, 5a) and is a key piece of Brown's power-play,
having scored two goals on the man-advantage last year. Sophomores
Jarred Smith, Bobby Farnham, and Jack Maclellan are also expected
to be a big part of the team up front. The trio spent time together
on Brown's third line last year and gained valuable experience,
playing in at least 30 games. Smith and Farnham both finished the
year with seven points (4g, 3a), while Maclellan had six (2g,
4a).

Rounding out the returning forwards are juniors David
Brownschidle, Harry Zolnierczyk, Jesse Fratkin, and Tyler
Fernandez. Each will look to contribute more regularly this season.
Brownschidle and Zolnierczyk have the most experience of the
quartet, having played in 24 and 31 games respectively, last
season. They both finished with a goal and an assist and will look
to increase their scoring this season. Fratkin appeared in 12
games, while Fernandez played in one last year, as both will
compete for more game time this season.

Five freshmen make up the Class of 2013, some of whom may see
the ice immediately. Francis Drolet (Lachine, QUE) comes to Brown
from the Salisbury School, where he was a captain for the 2009 New
England Champions. Jeff Ryan (Media, PA) played for the Boston
Junior Bruins last season, finishing fifth on the team in scoring
with 42 points. Marc Senecal (North Bay, ONT) joins the Bears after
three seasons with the Wellington Dukes of the OJHL. An Assistant
Captain last season, Senecal was named the Dukes' Playoff MVP.
Trevor Smyth (DeWinton, ALB) comes to Brown after spending last
season with the Ft. McMurray Oil Barons. An Assistant Captain in
2009, Smyth finished fourth on the team in scoring with 41 points.
Chris Zaires (Aberdeen, NJ) joins the Bears after one season with
the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL. The team's leading scorer
during the regular season, Zaires also led the Capitals in scoring
during the playoffs.